Biography

Lukáš Pohůnek belongs intothe last generation of graduates of Prof. Kurt Masur. He has already developed strong guest-conducting profile and has performed with many top-leading orchestras. He collaborated with MSM Symphony Orchestra New York and Leipziger Symphonieorchester - with later one he made his debut-performance at Gewandhaus in Leipzig. He is permanent guest conductor of Slovak State Sinfonietta Žilina and frequently collaborates with Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra Košice and Tadeusz Baird State Philharmonic Orchestra Zielona Góra. He has also served as an assistant conductor at Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava. In April 2016 he made his debut with Romanian State Philharmonic Orchestra „Oltenia“within „EUROPA SEASON“ as the youngest guest conductor from all the 28 countries of the European Union. His other debut engagements in 2016 included appearances with RTS Symphony Orchestra Belgrade, State Theatre Košice, Sinfonietta Bratislava and chamber orchestra Musica Classica Žilina.

Apart from his regular engagements Lukáš enters in 2017 his collaboration with London Philharmonic Orchestra and will work with Vladimir Jurowski and Julia Fischer.

Lukáš comes from a family of professional musicians. Before his conducting studies, he graduated Žilina Conservatory with degree in Trumpet performance (under the supervision of his father Ján Pohůnek). He further achieved his education in Orchestral conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Doz. Leoš Svárovský and at the Academy of Music in Cracow with Prof. Rafał Delekta and Prof. Tadeusz Strugała. During his university studies Lukáš has also participated in classes at Accademia Musicale Chigiana with Gianluigi Gelmetti, at Lovro von Matačić Foundation with Colin Metters, at Royal Northern College of Music with Mark Heron, at Cracow’s Academy of Music with Alexander Liebreich and in The Art of Conducting seminar with George Pehlivanian. He served also as an assistant to Oliver von Dohnányi and was awarded with scholarships of Dvořák Society in London and Olga Havel Foundation in Prague.

In 2015 Lukáš participated in Kurt Masur Conducting Seminar at Manhattan School of Music in New York and was later on personally invited by Maestro Masur to take part in the annual summer conducting school International Mendelssohn Academy Leipzig, led by Maestro himself. Furthermore, through this invitation he became the first-ever european conductor who was awarded a scholarship from Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Foundation & Mendelssohn House Leipzig related to this event. From the period with Maestro Masur is notable his audiorecording of the 3rd movement of Bruckner‘s 7th Symphony released by Bruckner Society of America when he shared the podium with Maestro.